Lutie: A Christmas Story
by Xenos Kadmia
Summary: Satsu Yamato, Bard, and Kalista Thebes, Alchemist, have never met each other in their entire lives. However, they are fatefully brought together by Christmas magic, the town of Lutie and a Vanilmirth named Jello.
1. The Beginning

Lutie: A Christmas Story

Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok Online, any of the job classes or anything mentioned here.

Lutie, a peaceful village secluded in the mountains, famous for its year-round snow and festive Christmas spirit.

It was the city of every child's dreams. Colorful lights everywhere, gingerbread houses people actually LIVED in, and jolly old men very unlike the fat old men who lived in the rented house next door and smoked endless chains of putrid tobacco.

No, Lutie was as much of a dream as dreams can be.

For some people, it was also the dream of a freshly started chapter in their lives. A new environment, and another chance to begin from scratch. Given its near-obscurity from the eyes of everyone else, private affairs remained private and the virtue of the townsfolk forbade gossip.

For Satsu Yamato, Bard, it was the perfect haven. He had gone from a hard-partying life in Comodo and he wanted to settle down. Perhaps, with enough practice, he could become one of those wandering bards who sang melancholic songs and chewed flowers all day. He had considered a flock of sheep, but decided that was overdoing it.

It was the opposite case for Alchemist Kalista Thebes. She wanted adventure. She had packed up all of her sharp and deadly things, anything that exploded, and, literally, brought out the big guns. Oh, and she could not forget Jello, her Vanilmirth. The thing was next to useless, really, being the gelatinous and not quite so orange version of Garfield, but still, Kalista saw potential in that wobbly square.

Something unknown to the two of them at that point, but quite obvious to us:

They were going to meet in a very dramatic manner.

They would be tied by destiny.

Jello would become a very important character later on.

There, I mentioned it once, remember Jello. Now, don't make me say it again.

Satsu picked up his guitar and looked around the Payon inn room one last time. He was not sad, the Bard life meant wandering and he had long lost the emotions of attachment.

He had lost his quiver.

He shrugged. He did not need a quiver. He was a Bard; he whacked monsters to death using the melodies of justice, no matter how gay that sounded. Besides, he could always buy another at his usual special discount. Merchants weren't the only ones who knew how to make connections.

He went outside and spoke to the Kafra.

"Hello, Satsu, how may I help you?" Blossom asked.

"Teleport, please."

"May I know your destination?"

"Geffen."

"That will be 1,200 zeny. Thank you for using the Kafra Service."

"Thanks."

Kafras, Satsu thought, they were always so mechanical. He wondered what would happen if he gave them an outrageous answer, just for kicks.

In Geffen, he bought his arrows, the cheap kind, for 500 zeny. It wasn't much and he could definitely carry more if he wanted to, but he was going to live a life of song and deep thinking. What would he need arrows for?

The irony of it all was that he would need them, during that one time when he decided to let himself go.

He wandered around Geffen, because that was what he did as a wandering bard: wander. Not to be confused with wonder, but they could do both at the same time. In fact, Satsu thought, or rather, _wondered_, he could make a nice tongue twister with that.

The wondering wanderer wandered while wondering about wandering.

He smiled, he was very clever, and a true poet indeed.

When he was done wandering, he set off for Al de Baran, where he would hitch a ride on Santa's sleigh to go to Lutie.

No, that was not a metaphor, that was really how people got to Lutie.

At Al de Baran, he played a few tunes for money, because he liked money as much as the next person, and because even though he was all set for a few years of hermitage, it was nice to have an emergency fund. A big emergency fund.

He saw a few female mages looking at him and giggled. Satsu looked somewhat like a lost elf. A cute lost elf, with hazel eyes and long dirty blonde hair. He was clumsy too, which added to his loveable factor. Add a shy smile into the mix and you had a Bard with the face of an angel and the tricks of a Thief. His Frost Joke was pretty sharp too.

Away from the hustle of the main square of Al de Baran, Kalista was also getting ready for her trip. She would leave a few days after Satsu first arrives at Lutie, but already you can see their lives being tied closer and closer by destiny.

I will not surprise you, we are very near to their fateful meeting. I hate surprises, because they aren't much of a surprise.

Jello was staring out the window, watching something going on in the outside world.

"What are you looking at, Jello? You have no chance of laying down a girlfriend, don't even try," Kalista said.

Jello pouted as much as a Vanilmirth could pout. Then, he looked at the direction of the small crowd beginning to form around a Bard playing the guitar.

Kalista stared at the Bard through her silver eyes. He was nothing special, just a Bard with a guitar, doing what Bards normally did to earn a living.

"Jello, I don't know what you're thinking. Do you want to go listen?" Kalista asked.

Jello said nothing. They don't usually do, but he continued looking out the window. On hindsight, perhaps Jello was psychic, but it didn't matter, because he couldn't talk. Homunculi had very strange powers that sometimes their owners could not discern. At some point, you might think that humans were the Homunculi's pets.

Outside, Satsu had finished his encore. The crowd tossed some zeny into his romantic gent while he packed up his guitar and got himself straightened out.

"Suckas," he thought as he saw the people throwing the zeny in.

Like I mentioned, no one would ever have suspected Satsu of foul play, him looking so innocent. But as he glanced at them through his dirty blonde bangs, he was scheming right then and there.

TWANG!!

"Oh my goodness! No, this can't be happening!"

The crowd looked at Satsu while he held his guitar in his hands like a dead child. The string had popped and Satsu's eyes, although shielded by his overgrown hair, were teary.

Or so they thought.

"My guitar…" he sobbed, "Now I cannot play anymore music. What is a bard without his music?"

A Crusader with a kind heart, in Satsu's terms, a wuss, looked upon the Bard with compassion that looked just about as real as Satsu's tears.

"Here, brother, have this so you can have your instrument fixed," the Crusader said.

He handed Satsu what looked to be around a thousand zeny.

"Gosh, you don't have to."

"Please, I insist. Get it fixed so you can share your music with the world."

"Well, thank you so much. One day, I will write many songs about you and your grandchildren's children will know them."

Satsu's eyes grew bigger ever so slightly, giving him a look of childish gratefulness.

He had learned that if you wanted people to believe you, you had to be a master of the slight. In this case, a slight change in the eyes or eyebrows could make anyone fall for him.

He ran off into a corner, pretending to walk to the blacksmith, but instead, he went to the Kafra, changed his guitar with the spare he kept in his storage, and then finally headed to Lutie with his pocket considerably heavier.

He smiled. It was nice being a Bard. Rogues were too conspicuous, and the other classes were just too noble for anything else.

From the window, Jello watched.


	2. The Fateful Battle

Lutie: A Christmas Story

By: Xenos Kadmia

Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok Online, or any of the cities and scenes mentioned here. I also do not own Microsoft Word.

* * *

When Satsu arrived at Lutie, he was mildly surprised to see that there were more tourists than usual, more children were throwing snow around, and Santa and his reindeers were making more noise than all the Merchants, Blacksmiths and Alchemists in Prontera combined, except that Santa could carry a tune other than "50 percent off sale on arrows, ores, boots, and more!" 

He mentally slapped his head. He remembered it was Christmas, and dozens upon dozens of people, especially Payonese and Morrocans, flocked to Lutie to see snow, festive lights, and their main attraction, Santa Claus.

It was also the period of time when Bosses such as Angeling, Garm, and Stormy Knight spawned more often, which attracted numerous adventurers and item collectors as well.

"Show-offs," Satsu thought, when a particular party were showing off their rare gear from all the boss-hunting they had done.

Of course, he couldn't really say that out loud, since they would jump him faster than a ninja having a spasm, and melodies of justice had hardly any effect on a bunch of big, bad, buff guys.

He had to be content with letting out a snort of disagreement and being on his merry way.

If it was any comfort, Santa gave him a present when he passed him by.

Present in hand, he headed to the house of the Lenient Aunt, who he still had connections with from the good ol' days when he changed his job from an Archer to a Bard.

Outside her house, he paused for a moment, reminiscing the time when he had knocked on her door for the first time as a young Archer, dashing, charming, and talented, with a dreamy look in his eyes.

He remembered he was freezing to death, his snot was frozen in his brain, and yet he still had to run around like crazy.

You can imagine how peeved he was when the Bard in Comodo told him he still had to bring him trunks to pass the Bard test. He nearly punched the guy in the face and told him to screw the tree next to him.

Almost.

He remembered that the Lenient Aunt had almost screamed at him for not wiping his feet when he came in the door.

Now was a different purpose, though. He was renting the little cottage she owned in the border of the town, in the most north-eastern corner from the heart. He would walk to town once a week for groceries and his post, if he had any, and he could go to Al de Baran to sing a song every so often, and maybe trick a few people into giving him money.

Just because he planned to become a hermit didn't mean he planned to live without money.

He knocked on her door, and he was careful to wipe his feet.

"Lenient my butt," he thought.

"Come in," a voice said from the other side of the door.

"Hello, Aunt, this is Satsu!" he said cheerfully as he opened the door and **carefully wiped his feet.**

"Satsu, yes, yes, the Bard who came for the cottage," she said, ushering him in. Sometimes she forgot who was coming and going because of all the work she had to do with the Archers knocking on her door every so often.

"That must be why they call her the Lenient Aunt," Satsu thought. On hindsight, she never really seemed to have a name other than that.

"Here are the keys," she said, "and rent is 1000 zeny a month, to be paid every first of the month. Here are the house rules."

She handed him a short piece of paper with only one line of writing on it.

"Wipe your feet," it read.

Satsu sighed. The faster he could get away from this feet-obsessed woman, the better.

He paid her six month's rent in advance, took the keys, then left, waving a cheery goodbye to her.

"She needs to have some kids," Satsu thought to himself, "her house would be so messed up, dirty shoes would be the least of her problems."

He began the long trek up to his cottage. When he got there, he was tired, but satisfied. It looked just the way he pictured it to be. A small, quaint cottage surrounded by a picket fence with a mailbox and a few winter plants outside.

There was even some smoke coming out of the chimney.

"How picturesque," Satsu thought. If he could put a border around the house, he could almost picture it in a postcard.

He entered the door and got himself settled in.

A week later, Satsu was hungry. He hadn't written any new songs yet, but he blamed that on hunger and adjusting to his new environment.

So, he packed up his guitar and his quiver, and he left for Al de Baran hoping to score some free food.

Meanwhile, Kalista was leaving Al de Baran with Jello. She had locked up her house and filled up her cart with Fire Bottles, Acid Bottles, Plant Bottles, food for Jello, and a few extra swords to fill up the weight.

"Let's go, Jello," she said to the Vanilmirth, who hadn't taken two steps and was already tired.

To make things simple, Kalista let him hitchhike on her cart.

"Stupid thing," she said quietly. Jello gurgled with delight, like it was his pleasure to annoy his master out her wits.

They talked to Santa and he sent them to the field outside of Lutie, him being the fat and lazy old man that he really is.

Kalista took out some Fire Bottles just in case some big, bad monster came by. In the cold, she began her trek to Lutie.

Satsu was making miserable progress. He slipped on every other step, his clothes were soaked, and his left butt cheek was sore and probably horribly bruised from where he frequently fell. He considered it his natural Bard luck that no aggressive monsters had crossed his path yet, since he was in absolutely no condition to fight.

He flopped down on a stump in surrender. He began singing what he thought was a melancholic tune in hopes that some party would take pity on him and accompany or teleport him to the city.

Instead of a party, he attracted what he thought looked like a small living icicle. He was no adventurer, so he was not well-termed with what monsters lived where, what more know their names and what the hell they looked like.

Which was bad preparation on his part.

The icicle growled.

"Hey there, you poor little thing, do you know the way to Al de Baran?" Satsu cooed.

The icicle nipped at his heels.

"Ow, watch it, I just had a pedicure," he said, pretending to be mad. Unfortunately for him, monsters did not know when humans were pretending. It was either they were mad or they weren't and this little monster perceived him to be the former.

The monster-icicle-thing barked then went away. Satsu sighed, and then stood up to try again. Nothing seemed to be going his way.

He took a few steps, then slipped hard. His head hit the cold ice, and he just decided to lay there, wallowing in his defeat.

"$#$!#$" he thought.

I hope that you understand cursing in the ancient Rune-Midgard language is difficult to understand and even the latest version of Microsoft Word cannot decipher it.

He thought he was delusional from when he hit his head, or that the wind was getting stronger, but he could hear some sort of breathing sound.

He listened closer, then his heart skipped a beat as he realized what deep doodoo he was in. The breathing was in low, growling sounds, and although Satsu was not an expert in adventuring or bestiaries, he knew that a sound like that could only come from a very big, very dangerous animal.

And it was coming from…

Right.

Next.

To.

His.

Ear.

He dared a look up at the creature, and he saw it was a ten times bigger version of the icicle thing he saw a while ago. He stood up slowly. He knew what it was now, it was a Garm, and the small version was a Garm Baby.

"I am dead meat," he whispered under his breath. He had his guitar in his hand already, and all he had to do was to reach for his quiver.

Then the Garm pounced.

Satsu was able to fend it off momentarily with his guitar, but suffered a hit from one of its minions. He ran while getting his guitar ready for a Musical Strike.

"Musical Strike!"

The attack missed the Garm, but hit one of the Garm Babies. Satsu ran a little more, pausing to hit it and possibly buy time.

"Musical Strike!"

"Musical Strike!"

"Musical Strike!"

It had barely any effect. Bards were not known for doing solo Boss hunts, they were not known for soloing period. Not to mention the fact that the arrows he had bought were only the normal kind, and his already short supply was steadily dwindling.

The Garm was catching up, and Satsu already felt himself losing his balance on the ice. He looked around desperately, but he was alone.

"Musical Strike!"

Garm stopped for a split second, but resumed its chase once again. A Garm Baby that was faster than the others was already at Satsu's ankles, biting and snapping.

A particularly nasty bite sent Satsu hurtling to the ground, a whole pack of Garm Babies eagerly flocking their prey.

Satsu felt blow after blow, bite after bite. Their clawing was intensified by the bitter cold of the ground below him.

Satsu knew he had no chance of winning.

"Demonstration!"

A blast of fire interrupted the Garm's feast as it hit the creature and its minions, burning Satsu, who still lay beneath them. The bomb was so close, Satsu felt a few of his nose hairs being singed.

Satsu felt more bombs explode above his head, and eventually, the bites, scratches, and blows diminished.

Satsu heard his rescuer cast a few Sphere Mines around them, maybe not to tempt the Garm or other monsters to come near.

Then, he lost consiousness.

Kalista and Jello had managed to ward off the Garm and most of its other minions. The remaining ones, she was able to kill with a few Cart Revolutions. She set up a few Marine Spheres for protection.

Kalista approached the poor bloke lying on the ground. He was bleeding like heck, and a guitar lay trampled not far from where he lay. It was obvious this Bard was in no condition to stand, let alone walk and tell her where he lived.

She grabbed a few Butterfly Wings from her cart and used them to send the two of them back to Al de Baran, where she would bring him to her house. She was a battle type Alchemist, but her Potion Pitcher wasn't too rusty and the least she could do was try to get him out of a critical condition.

Neither of them noticed it, but snow was gently falling on the ground.

Their paths had crossed.

* * *

Phew, long chapter. It was exciting though, and it wasn't as if I could just stop. Review and tell me what you think! 

Xenos Kadmia


	3. Awakening

Lutie: A Christmas Story

By: Xenos Kadmia

Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok Online, or any of the scenes or cities mentioned here.

I'd like to thank Agista Sin, Fireyflames, and gooba for their reviews. Helped me out a lot! Thanks, guys!

* * *

Satsu woke up, his mouth dry and his head a little sore, but otherwise okay. The last thing he could remember was a Garm and its pack, and an Alchemist rescuing him from them.

He was in a comfortable bed that smelled like it had been freshly washed, quite unlike the one at home, which had never even been acquainted with a good soaping.

Something bounced on his chest that felt like cold doodoo.

"Jello, get off him!"

That voice. Satsu remembered that voice. Okay, it was a little hard to distinguish it from the barks of a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, but it was nonetheless familiar.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Satsu blinked at the Alchemist standing over him. She was pretty, just not his type.

"No hablo ingles," he replied. "I don't speak English."

Kalista was no fool, the accent was too bad, and she was pretty clever.

"Es muy bien, yo hablo español, y puedo hero tu mucho mal," she replied. "That's okay, I speak Spanish, and I can hurt you bad."

Satsu lay there dazed.

"Hi, my name's Satsu, what's yours?"

Kalista smiled, for a handicapped goofball, he was pretty funny.

"Kalista Thebes. That's my Vanilmirth, Jello."

"Hello, Jello," Satsu addressed the Vanilmirth. Jello replied with a fart, nice and loud.

Kalista, rather embarrassed, quickly picked up Jello and put him on the floor next to her, where he bounced around like the nuisance he was.

"I'm sorry about that," she apologized, "he does that sometimes."

"That's okay. I speak Vanilmirth, he was just saying hi," Satsu said, then he chuckled.

Kalista smiled, then said, "Do you need anything?"

"A glass of water or something would be peachy. And I have to pee," Satsu replied.

"Alright, a glass of something coming up."

Kalista pulled a potion from her belt, gave it a good shake, then handed it to Satsu. It was sparkly, translucent and it looked very inviting. I could describe it more but Satsu was dying of thirst and anymore descriptions would result in an overuse of adjectives.

He gulped it all down, feeling it tingle down his throat, and all the way down to his stomach.

"This is some good stuff," Satsu said, draining the vial.

"It's a special potion I made. I would give you more if you want, but your health is fine, and you don't need it," Kalista said. "So, how about that pee?"

"I don't have to go anymore. I already went," Satsu said, putting on his mischievous face, and grinning broadly.

Yes, folks, Satsu was back.

Kalista looked slightly alarmed then seeing his face, started laughing.

"If you weren't so funny, I would slice your head off," she said. "Anyway, if you're feeling any better, you can give me the okay and you can go."

"Were you headed to Lutie?" Satsu asked.

"Yes, I was. At least, until I saw someone getting owned by a Garm."

"Well, thank you very much for rubbing that in."

"You're welcome."

"Well, I live in Lutie, so maybe I could go with you. I just learned that I don't do very well in snow," Satsu said.

Kalista looked at him with mild surprise.

"You don't look like a Lutie native," she said, examining his dirty blonde hair and fairly tanned complexion.

"That's because I'm not. It's a long story, but point is, that's where I live," Satsu replied bluntly.

"Makes sense. When do you want to leave?"

"Now is okay," Satsu said, bounding out of bed in a jiffy. In my opinion, that potion cured him too quickly. Had Kalista known him better, she wouldn't have given it to him, or at least, given him a smaller vial.

"Gosh," Kalista said, running a hand through her raven hair, recently chopped short. The Bard was already out the door, so she had no choice but to follow with her cart and Jello bounding at her heels.

They walked across Al de Baran, then hopped on Santa's sleigh to go to Lutie.

At the fateful field where Satsu was nearly killed, the two of them paused warily.

"Now, here are the rules, Satsu. Walk slowly, and if anything tries to kill us, run, don't look back, and leave it to me. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

Then Satsu ran off, chasing a Marin. Kalista sighed.

Men, she thought.

"HELP!!"

Kalista's senses heightened. It was Satsu, and he had gotten himself into trouble again. She grabbed a Fire Bottle from her belt, and got ready to fight a bloody fight.

In her head, she pictured mobs of Garm Babies wanting revenge for his escape.

She pictured him bloody, on the floor, this time not having a chance to escape Death.

But no. Reality is a sad thing.

"HELP!"

There was a Marin sucking up Satsu's foot, while there he was, running around like maniac, doing a very good imitation of a woman's scream.

Kalista sighed. He screamed better than she did.

"Come here, you." She pulled his ear, Marin and all, and dragged him through the snow until they were in front of Lutie's gates.

Her dragging had left a trail, but by now Kalista had ceased to care. If the Garm came, it could have him. Now, she really wished she had given him a smaller vial.

"Well, miss Kalista, thanks for the lift," Satsu said, brushing the snow off his pants, "but I'm afraid I must go. I have urgent matters to attend to, and they are all prettier than you."

"Hey-!"

But it was too late, he teleported. Kalista didn't know if she was more mad over the fact that he had indirectly called her ugly, or that he had teleported in her face, after he had slept in her house, drank her potions and made her use her precious Fire Bottles!

And not slept in that sense, I know what you're thinking but it's not like that. Really.

But what could she do? He was a jerk, and he was gone.

"Let's go, Jello," she said finally, waiting for the Vanilmirth to appear randomly and jump into her cart, like it always did.

It didn't, but in small consolation, a speck of dust jumped in his place.

"Jello?"

Kalista looked for the blob under her cart, behind a rock, and even going as far as proverbially upturning stones.

He wasn't there.

Satsu chuckled. He managed to freeload off that loser Alchemist for a couple of nights, and he got free security for the trip back. Sometimes getting beaten up wasn't all that bad.

Then, he felt something familiar, like cold doodoo, on his head.

"Jello?" he asked in surprise.

Jello responded with a fart, nice and loud.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! I think I'll be able to get the rest of this up before Christmas. Feel free to leave comments, criticism or praise. 


	4. Gimme Back Jello!

Lutie: A Christmas Story

By: Xenos Kadmia

Disclaimer: I do not own Ragnarok Online or any of the scenes mentioned here.

A/N: A quick shout out to my loyal reviewers, no matter how few they are! A gazillion thanks to **FireyFlames, Yuleen75, gooba, Agista Sin, and Attic-Window.**

* * *

Satsu pondered on what to do with the hyperactive gelatin bouncing around his room. He wasn't its master, so it refused to behave.

He thought about eating it, since it looked so appetizing, but it wouldn't stay still enough to be prodded with a spoon.

He sighed. He would have to find the owner, that Canister girl, or whatever her name was. She would kick his behind for sure.

"Come here you," Satsu called to the Vanilmirth, who happily hitched a ride on his head.

He grabbed his guitar, which was spankin' new after the Garm incident, then locked up his cottage. He sighed as he saw the bustling crowd.

Time to search for the girl.

"Christmas presents, special discount!"

Kalista's ears were numb to the cries of the holiday vendors. She needed Jello, it was annoying, that was true, but she had this bond with her Homunculus, like it always had her back.

"How about you, miss, you look like you could use a muffler. How about a thousand zeny off, just for you?"

She ignored the merchant. Even if she had that stupid muffler, she would still die in battle. At least if she had Jello, she might at least buy time.

And that stupid Bard, what was his problem? She had already helped him out, the jerk, and his thanks was to run off with her Vanilmirth and drink her potions. She was better off using those potions on herself.

Her legs moved mechanically. She was cold, wet, and alone. She hadn't even started on what she was supposed to do, no thanks to that stupid Bard. Her boss was going to kill her.

Tears began blurring her vision as she managed to get out of the crowd, and into a quiet place outside the church.

And then she, the tough Kalista Thebes, the killer chemist, began to cry. Over a boy, over her lost pet, over her job, and over that fact that it was Christmas and her gift was to lose everything.

"Pyoo!"

Satsu sighed as the Vanilmirth sneezed. He had no idea if they were supposed to sneeze, but this one did. And you could take it from him that the little gifts Jello left behind were nothing short of nasty.

"Do you know you are the grossest Homunculus I have ever met?" Satsu said. "I mean, you're the only one I've met so far, but you're pretty nasty."

Okay, now he knew he was going crazy. Talking to Vanilmirths, looking for someone to actually RETURN something to them. The hermit life probably wasn't meant for him, but if he wanted to be a Minstrel or at least a Really Awesome Bard, he had to suck it up and get tough.

He had searched through the crowd at least three times over, but there was still no sign of that raven-haired Alchemist. However, he had seen the same Blacksmith flirt with four different girls, two Dancers too fat for their uniform, at least three Mages shivering to death, and a Hunter's Falcon in a pear tree.

He chuckled, that was Christmas spirit alright.

Somewhere in the outskirts of town, he saw what he thought was a hunched over figure with unmistakably black hair.

That was her!

"Hey you, whatever your name is!" he called out, as he ran closer. He paused in his steps as he heard a sobbing sound come from her direction.

"Hey…are you okay?" he asked as he cautiously approached her. He knew he was a jerk, but not to the extent that he made people cry. He was that kind of guy who actually made others think they were doing a good thing. He was really a nice guy in the sense that he was a jerk but a NICE kind of jerk, which surprisingly exists.

Kalista lifted her head to look at him, her beauty marred by the tear steaks on her face.

"Oh. It's you," she retorted, "Go away. Go ruin someone else's life."

"I have your pet thing," he said quietly, "I thought you'd want it back."

Jello jumped off his head and hopped over to where Kalista was crying her lungs out, looking curiously at its owner.

"Go away now. Please."

On any other occasion, Satsu would have gladly obliged, but since this involved a girl who was shedding tears over what he probably did, he stayed. He took a seat beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Kalista dried her tears. Now that she had Jello back, there was no real reason to cry anymore, but she was doing it partly for the drama of it all, and partly because she knew it made the Bard feel guilty.

Satsu wasn't the only trickster in this story.

"I have to do something…and I couldn't start without Jello. My Guild needs something and I have to go down to Toy Factory to get it," she said.

"I've been down there a few times, and I've seen some pretty nasty stuff. What do you need exactly?"

"I need Cake. And Candy. Lots of it. They're experimenting on a new type of potion that involves the restorative powers of the stuff you can get here at Lutie," she said. There was another thing she needed, but it was too dangerous. Jerk as he was, Satsu didn't deserve to get involved in the battle she'll face.

"That's not too bad. Why don't you just buy them off Merchants, or other people?"

"They don't sell it. It's too hard to get to even try to make profit from them," she replied. This Bard obviously had not gone shopping in a long time.

"What are you getting for this stuff? If you're gonna waste your time here, then the Guild is bound to give you something in return."

"Yeah. They're going to send a letter of recommendation to the Valkyrie saying I'm eligible to transcend to Biochemist."

"Wow. All that for a bunch of candy?" Satsu asked in disbelief. On second thought, though, it was plausible, considering how she handled the Garm that nearly devoured him. "I wish the Bard Guild did that for me, since I'm pretty close to transcending myself."

"Are you now?" Kalista asked, a slight smirk on her face.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. That Garm just took me by surprise, plus I wasn't ready, you know, with equipment and stuff," Satsu said defensively. That comment hurt, but he was glad he was able to make the girl smile, if that smirk counted as a smile. It was the least he could do for jacking her Vanilmirth, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Sure, sure. I have to go now, I haven't even started and I have to find an inn or something," Kalista said, rising from her seat.

"You can't," Satsu said bluntly, "they're all full. Plus, it's getting dark." Then, seeing the crestfallen look on her face, he quickly added, "But you can stay at my house if you want to. I live here, remember? If you don't remember, then that's okay, but you can still stay in my house, your low IQ won't really affect that."

How was it that this Bard was able to be so nice and yet insult her at the same time?

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Kalista said.

"Thank you. It's getting really dark now, so you'll have to start tomorrow."

"Alright. How much are you charging for room rent?"

"It's free. On one condition," Satsu said, "I get to go with you down there, and we split the loot, not counting the Cakes and Candies and whatever stuff you need."

Kalista thought it over. It wasn't so bad, they could collect the Candy together, then she'll ditch him when it's over and come back alone for the other thing. It could work.

"Deal."

They shook hands.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," Satsu said, smiling.

"Likewise. I'm sorry though, I didn't catch your name," Kalista said.

"It's Satsu, Satsu Yamato, Bard, single, part-time rock star."

Kalista chuckled, this guy was really a goofball. "I know, I saw you in Al de Baran. You can attract quite a crowd. I'm Kalista, Kalista Thebes. You're a nice guy, you know, for a cheapskate and trickster."

"Well…thanks. You're pretty cute yourself."

Kalista blushed. He didn't really mean that, did he?

"Come on, let's go home. I'm not the most fantastic cook in the world, just thought to warn you," he said. "Shall we?"

They began walking to Satsu's house, on the other side of Lutie. A cold breeze passed by, made colder by the darkness, and Kalista shivered, not used to such weather.

Satsu held out his hand involuntarily. He had no idea what prompted him to, but he did it anyway. In the spur of the moment, he said "If you're cold, just say so."

"Thanks…" Kalista said, gratefully taking his hand. They walked together hand in hand.

Satsu mentally chided himself. What the heck was wrong with him? Asking a girl to stay in his house? Holding her hand? He glanced at Kalista. And this one of all people! She was cute, sure, but not as cute as some of the Dancers in Comodo who fell for him all the time. Christmas music played softly in the background.

Father Christmas must have been playing tricks on him.

* * *

A/N: The plot thickens! Not much action in this chapter, but it'll come soon. There'll eventually be more fluff too. Thanks for all the support so far! 


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